The Shinobi Way Rewrite Ch. 2

Sweet smelling smoke drifted throughout a room as a very powerful man exhaled, his hooded eyes gazing at the glowing embers in his cherry-wood pipe, his teeth idly nibbling the stem. Today had been stressful; he'd earned a few moments of calm relaxation. Things were going quite well for him recently in some things, and horribly in others. It was always this way, one of the many, many consequences that power brought. You couldn't have a single good thing without having something negative in return. Hell, even the simplest of decisions were like that nowadays. He couldn't buy his tobacco from one story without others getting offended that he didn't think their quality was sufficient for him to buy for them. He'd just had to write a page long letter reassuring a store-owner that yes he still liked the store, no he hadn't been disrespected by any of the employees, and no he didn't want the man to lower his prices.

Honestly, the store had simply been out of the particular tobacco he wanted, it was no big deal. He had simply wanted something different, something with a better taste and smell than the usual bitterness that became the aftertaste after he'd managed to work his way through a pipe full of his preferred tobacco. Not from the tobacco itself, but much more often the events that occurred right as he began to puff upon it. Speaking of...

Three sharp raps upon the door heralded the shinobi that he had summoned. This was going to be one of those things that turned his tobacco bitter in his mouth.

"Hokage-sama." The man's voice was warm, but lazy, every syllable seeming to take a moment to come out. But that was the way that the man had changed after all that he had gone through, and when compared to some of his other shinobi...this really wasn't that bad. Even if he was summoned three hours ago.

"Kakashi. I summoned you three hours ago." It would be more accurate to say that he'd told Kakashi to be here at five p.m., knowing full well that he wouldn't show up until at least seven, likely eight. The man merely shrugged, one of his often used excuses springing to his lips.

"Apologies Hokage-sama, but a black cat crossed my path and I wound up having to take the long way around." The man merely frowned at the insolent Jonin. To think that this little show of rebellion could have been so very easily avoided if he had just let Kakashi do what he'd wanted to do. In fact, looking back now, it would have likely been so much better for the village to give into Kakashi's request. It would have been easy to find ways around the civilians...no, better not to think about that now. What's done is done, or so the saying went.

"Save the excuses Kakashi. You know why you're here." All signs of laziness vanished from the tall man, his single eye hardening and his back straightening, steel present in his entire frame. An eternal reminder that Kakashi was hands down one of the strongest shinobi in the village was perfectly clear in his eye, the man's razor sharp intellect dissecting everything that he knew about the meeting.

"You wish to discuss Naruto again." It wasn't a question, even though Sarutobi nodded in response. Kakashi resisted sighing; the man had been trying to go over his plans for training Naruto ever since they had first made the agreement; they couldn't risk Konoha's Weapon growing strong and proceeding to abandon the village, could they? Of course Sarutobi never worded it quite like that.

"Indeed." Kakashi stood in silence for a moment, waiting for the man to continue. Unfortunately for his patience, Sarutobi was no hurry, far to eager to enjoy what was left of his tobacco before his admittance would turn it bitter upon his tongue. Alas, even the best of things must end, and so to did the Hokage's desire to wait, the sweet scent of the smoke becoming far to strong for his tastes.

"I...made a mistake all those years ago." Kakashi's breath caught in his throat at the admission, not daring to hope that the man meant what Kakashi believed he did. For it was very rare that a Kage, the leader of village, would ever go back upon their word, regardless of whether they were wrong or not.

"Shunning Naruto has resulted in no-one ever knowing the boy's real strength, and for some reason he has outright refused to trust me. I still don't know why...but speculating about it is pointless now. You managed to convince him to trust you, even if it was far less than any of us would have preferred; you should be able to do it again, especially if you are training him as well. You will give full reports on his strength, psyche, loyalty to the village, and any abnormal behavior that may occur. In return I will not allow the civilian council to place both the Uchiha heir and the Haruno heir on your team." Kakashi frowned, the expression causing his mask to crumple. He knew quite well that this was an order; Sarutobi wouldn't hesitate to go back on his word, wouldn't hesitate to refuse Kakashi the right to train Naruto if he didn't agree to the man's demands. There was very little leeway involved when the man gave an order, but this one held both reward and punishment. For the moment he was still allowed to train Naruto as he desired, but with the Haruno on his team things would move along slower.

It was nothing against the Haruno; going strictly by the academy scores, the girl had the potential to be a fairly skilled jonin in the future, perhaps even an elite in a certain field. The problem with the girl was that she didn't train on her own time, and it would take a very long time in order for her to reach the physical fitness level of even the weaker of the two boy's, the Uchiha. Don't get him wrong; Sasuke Uchiha was an excellent example of the physical fitness level required for a genin, and even some chunin were not as physically adept as the boy was. But Uzumaki Naruto was another story entirely, and there was quite simply no way in hell that he would be able to get the Haruno up to Naruto's level in any less time than a full year of intense training and a strict, calorie rich diet. Something the immature girl would never even consider.

"That will interfere with gaining Naruto's trust. I can quite easily report on his psyche, loyalty, and abnormal behavior, but any report upon his strength holds the potential to shatter everything." Sarutobi's brown eyes darkened, demanding an explanation from the man. Kakashi continued, his priorities still on what was best for Naruto, but also on actually ensuring that the boy trusted him. If Naruto couldn't trust him...if the only thing he hadn't destroyed didn't trust him...what was he worth?

"Sir, with all due respect, this is a shinobi village." The stare that his Hokage gave him had cold sweat beginning to roll down the back of his neck, the quick flash of irritation present in those dark brown eyes reminding him just strong this man was.

"There's almost no such thing as a secret here; all information is to be bartered to gain an advantage over others. There are still many who desire to harm Naruto in this village; they've simply suppressed that desire because he is to much of an unknown. If certain shinobi learned of just what Naruto was capable of; his movements, his techniques, his thoughts...if they then used this knowledge against him and he survived it...how many suspects would he have? There is no way that he would ever trust me again." Sarutobi's eyes narrowed, killing intent pressing down upon Kakashi like a mountain,

"Are you saying that I would sell information about Naruto to people who would hurt him?" Kakashi was forced to stoop slightly under the pressure before he found his own strength, the steel pressing into his spine enough for him to straighten up, his own desire to kill any who might threaten Naruto flaring outward, fighting off Sarutobi's strength.

"Yes. You sold out his apartment by allowing one of your former secretaries to know about it. Of course, you were "furious" that she had broken confidentiality and had told someone about it, but the simple fact remained that you allowed her to lean about it. I have no doubt that he had multiple attacks on his own home before he managed to kill a jonin." Sarutobi's dark brown eyes glared at the lightly sweating Kakashi for several moments before he finally eased off, unable to deny the truth of the matter, and Kakashi was too valuable to...persuade...into seeing things his way. A large problem with shinobi of great skill, for once they attained that skill they were notoriously set in their beliefs, and it would take a long period of reconditioning to ever change the ways that Sarutobi often found himself cursing, from not only Kakashi but others as well, such as Might Guy, Jiraiya, and even some of his Anbu. Each of their antics were ridiculous by themselves; when you added that into the sheer stubbornness that it took achieve great power Sarutobi even found himself cursing his own ways sometimes.

It was only that remembrance, the simple fact that even Sarutobi had points he would never so much as bend on, that saved Kakashi from having to fight to train Naruto. When it came to all the missions that Kakashi took, all of the power that the younger man wielded, with great skill in fact, a few small concessions that were already going to be made was nothing. While the continued disobedience was troubling, it was only in regards to this single thing; Naruto. When balanced against the many S-ranked missions that Kakashi had taken, and would take in the future...well, what could Sarutobi really do except give in? But there was no way that he would give Kakashi all of what he wanted.

"Very well...unfortunately, the Lady Haruno has a great desire to see her daughter on the same team as the Uchiha heir, and as such I do not really have a reason to refuse her, nor do we have a ready substitute for her. The Hyuuga Heir isn't someone that we can have on a team with the Uchiha Heir and Naruto." Kakashi almost snorted at that; the mere thought of all that potential power and influence on a single team would have many forces across the Elemental Nations chomping at the bit, lining up and stabbing each other in the backs to get their hands upon them. Separated they were safer, by a great deal.

"The Yamanaka heir's temperament is unsuitable when held against the Uchiha and likely Naruto's own, and while the Haruno's isn't much better...hopefully she will at least manage to hold her tongue a bit better than the Yamanaka. By all reports the girl is a great deal quieter when not in the influence of her fellow classmates." Kakashi frowned at the Hokage's reasoning, but there was nothing he could do to avoid it. He would simply need to adjust his plans to encompass the young Haruno as well. It would take a great deal of effort to catch her up...but it was manageable.

"So Kakashi, I expect full reports on Naruto weekly, and this includes just what you are training him on." The shinobi bowed his head in acquiescence, turning to leave, only for a final word of warning from Sarutobi to stop him, right as his hand grasped the doorknob.

"Do not attempt to falsify any of the reports Kakashi; I will know, and the results will be...unpleasant." To the younger shinobi's credit, he only paused for a moment, only the tensing of his shoulders giving away the fact that the promise had unnerved him, Sarutobi smirking once the door shut. It was nice to know that no matter how problematic some of the brats could be, he was still on top, and still would be for quite some time.

Kakashi left the office in a cold fury, fighting the urge to flare his violent intent for the world to feel, especially as the secretary cut her eyes at him, her breath coming a little quicker at the sight of his lean form striding predatorily through the room. Even the anger that was as clear as the morning sun to anyone who could read body language did nothing to dissuade her, in fact it only seemed to excite her.

There was only one thing left that the man could do, and that was to keep doing his best to look out for Naruto...and now Sasuke. It was the very least that he could do, for both his Sensei and Obito.

~The Shinobi Way~

Years. Years it had been since he'd first been placed in this cursed class, yet Naruto still felt the same way that he had originally. How, exactly, could potential shinobi, Clan Heirs in fact, be so extraordinarily loud? These were children who had been trained almost from birth to be the next generation of soldiers, ready to sacrifice their life for the village, and yet they were so noisy! They could be found so easily by even the least skilled of adversaries, and would be killed before they could even close their seemingly always flapping jaws by any chunin worth the title. At least he no longer had a headache every time he was exposed to it, having grown used to it over the years.

His half closed eyes opened as the door was pushed, their "instructors" entering the room, each of the shinobi-potentials finally quieting down, a simple background murmur of excitement all that remained. The young boy couldn't help a sigh of relief, one that went completely unnoticed from his place in the far corner, right by the wall. He'd originally thought that by the window was better; a quicker escape route that way, but he'd quickly learned his lesson. He hadn't been able to use his arm for an hour after that kunai had pierced straight through to the shoulder, cauterizing the wound with intense heat that Naruto had only recently learned to use himself. The chunin teaching the class had simply smirked up at him at the time, a single handseal releasing the sound-sealing jutsu. The man had wanted to hear him scream.

A bitter smile flashed in his eyes before it vanished, icy cerulean eyes returning to their typical blankness. There was so much he'd learned ever since that day, so many years ago now. Five years in fact, and he'd been training hard. Well, training was a rather mild term for what he'd done.

Naruto had pushed himself far past his limits every day; in fact he'd only been able to make it to one class out of every three, whether it was because of his training or because of outside interference. For a time it had been more of the latter, but for the past three years the only ones who had attacked him had been very drunk civilians, something that he was very thankful for. Civilians were infinitely easier to handle than even the weakest of shinobi.

The young boy had learned a lot over those five years, thanks in a large part to the fact that he no longer hesitated to steal what he needed. Weapons, equipment, food, medical supplies...anything that Naruto actually needed found it's way into his hands, one way or another. While he had tended to thievery in his early years, those had been limited to a little bit of food now and then, not a months supply from a supermarket overnight. It had been quite a relief, even with all of the trouble it had led to. Naruto had never gone hungry again, which had made it all worthwhile.

"Alright class, settle down." The Sensei's voice drew him from his thoughts, but only for a moment. The man's voice, one Umino Iruka, brought him into mind of all the things the man had failed to teach him, and the rest of the class as well. Even missing four classes a week Naruto knew quite well that the man hadn't taught the class all that they would need to survive, and that was reflected heavily in the mockery of the shinobi lifestyle that was the Graduation Exam.

"You will now be taking the Graduation Exam...QUIET DOWN!" Iruka was forced to yell to shut the class up at that announcement before he could continue, Naruto filled with cold disgust at the whole academy.

"As you all know quite well, this exam will consist of four parts. The written test will be passed out as soon as I finish the required reading." The teacher, aiming for humor, flapped the sheet of paper that he had brought in with him, getting the desired chuckles from the suddenly nervous children.

And children was exactly what they were.

It would be obvious from anyone who had any knowledge of what a shinobi was that these were not anywhere near what those vaunted soldiers should be. They were obnoxious, innocent, weak, and not even a single one of them had ever taken a life, something that would be happening almost as soon as the exam was finished if their respective Jonin-sensei were anywhere near as good as they should be.

"Now I expect you all to pass this exam; you all have done well in the past, and today should be no different. I look forward to working alongside you all in the future...as Shinobi of Konohagakure." There were maybe twelve children in the whole room who would pass the exam and continue on to a successful career at the moment, and seven of them were members of the various clans of Konoha. To think; there were twenty civilian children in the room, seven clan members, and Naruto himself, and all of twelve potential shinobi at the moment.

Many of them would fail, even if they passed this farce of an exam, simply because they weren't prepared. The rest would die.

"Gook luck." Their chunin teacher began to pass out the exam, a variety of questions over all the knowledge that had been imparted to them over the years. They started off simple, such as the first question.

1. What year was Konohagakure founded?

The questions quickly got harder, at least from the perspective of the civilians.

15. How many pounds of pressure does it take to snap the human neck?

16. What is the most efficient way to rip off the human ear?

Naruto found himself somewhat amused at the suddenly green faces of those who read those questions, the young blonde wondering just what they thought they were getting into. Near the end of the fifty question test came the ones that would choose who passed and who failed; not in an immediate sense, because a passing score was a 75%. But in the future it would be the children who could answer these hypothetical questions without pause that would succeed in the world of Shinobi.

50. You are surrounded by enemy shinobi of chunin level. They are better trained, better equipped, and in superior condition, and outnumber you 15 to 2. On the other hand you are lightly injured, exhausted, and are in possession of; a single kunai, two explosive tags, and three days supply of food. You are also burdened by a heavily injured comrade who is incapable of walking on her own, a former classmate. How do you survive?

The best part of this question was that there was no real way to answer this question without having significantly more information, which wasn't provided. Things such as the weather, time of day, enemy equipment, the hypothetical comrades skills, any equipment that said comrade had, and the geographical environment. Winning this wasn't the point of the question, especially when a lightly injured shinobi should still be capable of killing up to a thousand civilians, depending on the injury and skill level of the shinobi.

The point to this question was to weed out those who wouldn't hold true to the Konoha mindset. This village was very big on teamwork. The Sannin were a huge example of this, having survived against a man who had at one point been acknowledged as the strongest shinobi in the world, a much coveted title that had since lain unclaimed. The students who answered, say, they would use their injured comrade as bait with the explosive tags in a suicide attack to take out as many as possible...well, it wasn't exactly a viable option. While sound strategically, it would show the beginnings of a callousness that Konoha didn't want in it's shinobi, and as such would be very carefully trained out of them. Brutality towards the enemy was one thing; towards the village itself? Unacceptable.

It didn't take long for Naruto to answer the questions, fighting the urge to answer truthfully on some of the questions. His original thought for question 50 would be to sacrifice the teammate, simply because it would be the quickest and cleanest way to deal with the problem. The potential was there to use the woman as bait and still end the fight with her alive as well, depending on the geography, so chances were it was the best answer as well Unfortunately, due to the many lectures on teamwork over the years from their chunin teacher, Naruto couldn't do that, therefore his answer wound up with using himself as bait after hiding his supposed comrade. That wasn't something that was likely to go well in the real world.

There were very few children in the room who managed the test well; in fact there was only a single person other than Naruto who didn't seem even the least bit bothered, and it wasn't someone he'd been expecting. Haruno Sakura, perhaps the one civilian in the room with the potential to have minor and immediate success in the shinobi world via her incredible chakra control, managed to blast through the test even faster than Naruto, as though she had the correct answers memorized. Considering she was first in the academic side of things, it was entirely likely that she did.

The second part of the exam was equally simple; an e-rank genjutsu was placed upon each student and it was a race against the clock to dispel it. Unfortunately this was to much for most of the class, as many wound up being unable to dispel the genjutsu in the five minute time frame. Most of them were under the impression that they were not under one the entire time. While time consuming, this was the simplest exam.

The third was the most difficult from the perspective of most of the children, being taijutsu. It was hands down the most important of the three main shinobi disciplines. When all the chips were down, all your chakra used, and you still had people to kill? Taijutsu was the only one of the big three that would remain useful.

Fourth and final was ninjutsu, specifically three ninjutsu that would provide the basis of all non-elemental jutsu in the future. The clone technique, the substitution technique, and transformation technique. A very small, and quite honestly pathetic foundation for the future when all things were considered. When Naruto had seen, and been on the receiving end of attacks that commanded the strength of multiple elements...well, those three were nothing. They weren't even useful for learning how to channel chakra, because it was a completely different set of lessons for those.

Overall, the exam was mainly useless, a complete farce of the future they would hold as shinobi. It was of little use other than determining a very small amount of the potential each student had. Something that had Naruto believing that there would be another exam afterwards, on a great deal tougher. It didn't matter; nothing really did after all. This was a village of liars, thieves, and murderers. The only things that mattered were the vices you savored in between the shadows.

"You pass Uzumaki." Naruto merely nodded to the chunin, not really caring that the man's attitude was far colder to him than any other of the students. Umino Iruka was a far better instructor than any of the Chunin before him, and had been significantly better at maintaining his professionalism when compared to them. The three techniques were nothing to him after all; the substitution had been mastered soon after he unlocked his chakra from pure necessity, the henge had allowed him to walk into the library with ease, and the bunshin had allowed him to fool many a drunken man.

He walked back out of the secluded classroom, easily ignoring the flash of anger that rose up at the sight of his Haori, and equally easily ignored the anger at the fact that he had passed. He could sense it from Mizuki, the chunin assistant to Iruka. The man had never liked him to begin with.

Naruto swept out of the classroom without a single one of the newly graduated ninja noticing him leave. This was the future generation of Konoha, one that held so much potential within it that even now forces all around the elemental nations were enacting plans to spy, sabotage, assassinate, steal, and seduce them. But for the moment all that they were, all that they could be, was nothing when compared to the one who walked out of the class without ever being noticed.

~The Shinobi Way~

It would always be a source of disappointment to one Shimura Danzo just how far his friend had fallen. The leader of the strongest military force in the known world, with all the power and prestige of such a position at his fingertips, and what did he do?

He let it corrupt him.

Which was to be expected to a degree, the man supposed. After all, it wasn't like the Kage of any nation were beacons of light. The Nidaime Mizukage raped hundreds of his own genin. The Shodaime Tsukage constantly fucked his son's brains out, eventually placing the 8-year old boy in a permanent coma, and still continuing to use him. The Nidaime Hokage had a serious obsession with drinking the blood he ripped out of his enemies with his control over water. And the very worst of the lot, the Shodaime Raikage...well, he had fallen so far into depravity that even now he was held up as an example of the most fucked-up shinobi ever. The others had been acceptable, contained. His? There hadn't been a single woman in the village who hadn't been used for his satisfaction, to the point where he'd held no less than 50 jonin level women in reserve at all times just to satisfy his urges for a cum-dump. So yes, his vices were unacceptable, and as a result the Nidaime Raikage had broken him. Once your vices began to lower your villages strength, it was all over.

Danzo shook his head at the tangent his thoughts had gone off on, frustrated over his own lack of control, something that was unavoidable in all shinobi with large chakra reserves. The energy of life effected everything, after all, even the most disciplined of minds. His once great teammate, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had fallen. Danzo didn't know exactly when, and he sure as hell didn't know how one of the most moral men he had ever known had fallen so far, but he had.

It wasn't an obvious corruption, like with the ones he had been thinking of. No, Hiruzen's was much worse. It was a poison in the mind, ever so slowly ruining his competence and making himself question his own decisions. It had begun some time ago, right after the Kyuubi attack, and things had slowly spiraled down hill, for almost the entire village. And the man's poison, his failures...they all revolved around a single person. And it was for them that Danzo was currently walking towards the office of his former friend, even as his soldiers stacked the odds in that person's favor.

"Danzo...to what do I owe the pleasure, old friend?" They both had to fight the urge to laugh at the title, the poison present within enough to send lesser shinobi into unconsciousness, especially when combined with the desire for blood that the both of them were emitting. Neither of them could help taking a minute to observe the other, each seeing what they believed to be mere shadows of there former friends.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, an old man but by no means a weak one, in the formal Hokage robes with the hat upon his head, his cherry wood pipe resting lit in his mouth, elbows upon the oak desk and his hands clasped as he glared at Danzo. The Third Hokage, the longest standing Kage in the history of the elemental nations, the killer of two other Kage's and several dozen S-ranked ninja, and the beloved leader of the village of Konoha. The man had mastered every jutsu Konoha knew, even the one's known only by specific clans. Mastered, not just learned, and had even added his own improvements to many of them, the man truly deserved his title as the God of Shinobi, even his age had only made him wiser. His pedigree didn't just end there; having survived all three Shinobi Wars, wars that had seen the birth and destruction of entire nations, the man was more experienced than nearly all of the shinobi left alive, and even now was a serious contender for the title of "Strongest Shinobi." With a Mastery of Bojutsu, the Art of the Staff, a powerful Summoning Contract, and a mind that even now was sharp enough to pierce through nearly any veil, The Professor not only earned his titles...he surpassed them.

This was the man who led his village into the light, churning out policy after policy that, while seeming weak and almost imbecilic, actually wound up making his village stronger than any other. This Man commanded armies as easily as breathing, saw through deceptions like they were a light rain, and had guided his people through three titanic wars, far worse than any that had ever been seen before then. Three total wars, sending his people to fight and to die, never blinking an eye, but always coming out on top. This was a man who held fast to his beliefs, refused to accept defeat, and utterly crushed any resistance against him, all the while looking like nothing more than a doting grandfather. By any and all standards, this man was a legend, and a very powerful fighter.

Shimura Danzo, just as old as the other, but the years had been nowhere near as kind to him. Bandages covered half of his body, starting with the right side of his face and going all the way down, even his arm was covered in them, what was left of them at least. Even the many wrappings couldn't hide the scars littering his body, the most noticeable being the X burned into his chin. His eye had been lost, his arm ruined, his leg crippled, and he walked with a cane, but this man was a shinobi to the end. Even the traditional white shirt and black robe that covered most of the bandages did nothing to obscure that all consuming fact. The cane hid his beloved sword, the robes held kunai, shuriken, and many other tools. His limp was real, but exaggerated, and his skills had only sharpened with time. He had mastered two elemental affinities, attaining more skill with them than his comrade ever had due to the man's focus on learning it all. Wind was his to wield, and fire danced with him with an eagerness that licked at everyone who'd ever fought him. Even despite his age and injuries the man was still a force to be reckoned with, and even now was still regarded as the single person in the village who could match the Hokage in combat. But all of this paled in comparison to his greatest accomplishment.

This was the man that had created an entirely new way of the shinobi lifestyle, had been the creator of the shadow wars and he remained the ultimate authority on that field. He ruled an organization of no less than six hundred shinobi, each and every one of whom loved the man like a father, and would not hesitate to lay down their lives for him. This man was the sole reason that a fourth shinobi war had not seen the end of Konohagakure, and when he spoke everyone with any amount of intelligence stopped and listened. This was a man who had killed seventeen S-ranked shinobi in a single engagement, had fought on the front lines of six different wars, and even now was in the middle of a seventh. This man did not hesitate, no matter the situation, because he had only a single goal in mind at any point in his history, and would only have a single goal in mind in the future. Other's revolved around it, but no matter how important, everything was considered less important than that single goal. "Protect Konoha."

These two were God's amongst a world of Titan's, were Leaders in a world of leaders, and both would do anything for their village, regardless of cost, consequence, or even personal desires. The difference between them, the single factor that kept these two from teaming up and taking down the world around them, were their methods. One was kind and generous, basking in the light and making people love him, yet so dangerously manipulative that loving son's would kill their mothers if he asked, and doting fathers would sell their daughters into slavery if this man said it was "for the good of the village." The other was his opposite in so very many way's. When one would give a little girl whose parents had been murdered a sweet, pat her on the head with a loving smile, and tell her that everything would be alright and that he would take care of her, all the while training her to kill the very person who had hurt her, the other would hand her a kunai, teach her to wield it with skill, and tell her why her parents had been killed, letting her make her own decisions, simply choosing to ensure that those decisions were in his favor. Both way's inspired fierce loyalties, and neither way was superior to the other, for both got the ideal results. The little girl would grow up to be a powerful shinobi under either's guidance, whether innocent or jaded it didn't matter, for this world is nothing but shades of gray. None could possibly choose which way was right, for all would choose the way that appealed to them, and that was why they were both so dangerous.

"A very simple reason, old friend. After all, it isn't every day that I hear about the village's weapon being stunted." A puff of smoke left the man's mouth, icy brown eyes glaring into the frozen gray eye in his worst friends face. The man wasn't fazed, simply seating himself into the of the visitor's chairs in the office. They both settled in for a long debate; both were stubborn, both had ammunition against the other, and worst of all...

Both thought they were right.

"Stunted? There is no reason at all for me to intentionally hinder the growth of a loyal shinobi to the leaf." Was the deflection, one that Danzo was easily able to pick up on, his hands resting on his cane as he stared at his best enemy.

"Then perhaps you would care to explain to me why you found it necessary to order Hatake-san to avoid training Uzumaki-san? I found that particular order most interesting, especially considering just what the child is. That sort of order would only cause additional problems if the child discovered it." This was one of the bigger points of contention between the two in recent years, and it was unavoidable. Danzo wanted the boy trained and loyal, and had dozens of methods in place to secure such loyalty. Hiruzen wished the boy trained and loyal as well, but refused to allow any risk to the village's civilian population. The Hokage puffed out several more breaths of smoke before he answered, considering everything that had occurred recently.

"I do not recall ever ordering Kakashi-kun to bypass the training of young Naruto-kun, I merely ordered that he report to me what he was being trained in." Danzo didn't let the dodge affect him, he had known that Hiruzen hadn't made it an actual order before coming in here...yet. This was merely a distraction, and if it worked...well, all the better for Konoha.

"Which is but a substitute for what you truly intend. How can any shinobi possibly train their students with any degree of success if they are reporting everything to someone else? The bond between a student and a teacher requires a monumental level of trust and respect; one that can never truly occur when one is forced to spy upon the other." Hiruzen frowned, irritated that the man's truthful statement had also been pointed out by Kakashi earlier. First point was to Danzo, but the battle was far from over.

"Than what would you suggest Danzo?" It was a mark of just how much the two hated each other now that there were no honorifics attached. The both of them were renowned for their politeness, even if it was merely a mask, and these little displays of rudeness were well marked. Dropping those honorifics implied that either they were close, but not close enough to warrant affection, or that they had grown comfortable in each others presence. While both were true, they had stopped being polite with each other a very long time ago.

"Before you make any suggestions however, keep this in mind. "Hiruzen glared at his colleague, his intent to kill rising sharply. It didn't even faze the other man.

"Naruto-kun is not a weapon for you to forge, nor is he eligible for your "retraining." Minato-kun made it quite clear that any loss of emotion could result in the Kyuubi gaining a greater influence upon his mind, perhaps even causing the boy to release the seal. So even if Root was still around, you would not be able to turn him into one of your tools without endangering the village." Danzo couldn't help the anger that spiked up within him at the mention of Root, his pride and without doubt his greatest accomplishment. The organization that would always keep the village safe, even if the village didn't know about their existence, the ones that sacrificed everything they had doing the dirty work that was necessary, but Konoha couldn't afford to be seen doing. His children, the ones that he had had a hand in training, and the inheritors of the Will of Shadow, his answer to the Will of Fire.

"There are hundreds of way's that I could have ensured his loyalty Hiruzen, and none of them would involve taking away his emotions. If you had ever truly read my reports, you would have realized that any and all members of Root were only broken for a short time. They regained their emotions, and were stronger because of the experience." Hiruzen had never bothered to try and understand just what Danzo had been doing, a foolish move on his part. Once he had gotten to the part where Root members had their emotions suppressed for a time he had gone up in a rage, forcing the program to go underground. While it had been briefly revived under the Fourth's rule...well, the man's lead had been equally brief.

"Emotions are the key to a shinobi's success Danzo, and Naruto-kun's most of all." There it was again, intentionally giving Naruto an honorific when leaving off Danzo's. It wasn't like the man did this with all of his shinobi...but intentionally separating young "Naruto-kun" and "Danzo"? A childish attempt at one-upping the other man.

"We have had this argument a hundred times Hiruzen, and neither of us will budge on our beliefs. This is not why I am here." A hundred times was right; they had even fought over it, neither one ever truly winning. They were perfectly matched, each holding immense skills in their areas, and each had reasons to win.

"Then why are you here Danzo?" Hiruzen was growing irritated with this, irritated with Danzo's continuing stubbornness. They had fought out their arguments so many times that it was ridiculous, and he was tired of his former friend. Unfortunately, neither could rest while the other was still in power. Their ideals were too different, each believing that theirs were right.

"To make a suggestion, just as you requested." Hiruzen fought the urge to growl at the silky parry, not truly telling him why he was there. He waved his hand, his teeth worrying at the aged cherry wood of his pipe, causing the other to continue.

"I believe that Hatake should focus on Uzumaki, far more so than the Uchiha. The Uchiha is a far greater flight risk at the moment according to his psyche reports, and even now his inferiority complex will see anyone stronger than him as a stepping stone to power. Even you cannot deny that, nor would you be capable of keeping him inside the village if someone of great power promised him one-on-one training. Uzumaki has nowhere near that level of risk, and if Hatake focuses on him the boy will be far less likely to even dream of leaving. If Hatake instead focuses on the Uchiha, and Uzumaki continues to deal with the hatred of the village...well, the village has a great deal more to lose if Uzumaki turns traitor than if the Uchiha turns traitor." Hiruzen's frown deepened, acknowledging the point. Naruto held the Kyuubi; all of Sasuke's potential couldn't match up to the sheer power of that beast. Not that the young child seemed to hold anywhere near as much potential as his older brother had...

"Perhaps that idea would work for the best Danzo, but I cannot in good conscious order the neglect of any shinobi of the Leaf, much less a clan heir. Young Sasuke-kun could quite easily grow up to be one of our strongest Jonin if nurtured properly, perhaps even an S-rank. While Naruto-kun has the same potential, it is for the best that they are both nurtured. Who knows? Perhaps they will wind up forming a friendship. Both of them are broken in so many ways. Chances are they could help each other grow stronger, building up their loyalty to the Leaf whilst they are at it." Danzo shook his head in response, growing interested in the distraction now that it was proving fruitful. Perhaps he would come out of this with more than he had intended...

"You have read the psyche reports Hiruzen; you know as well as I do that they are completely incompatible. One is, by all accounts, a revenge-driven idiot who has somehow managed to develop both a superiority complex and an inferiority complex, something that up until this point was believed to be impossible without developing split-personalities. He is arrogant, unyielding, and possesses a remarkable degree in stupidity. The other is his opposite, a shinobi the likes of which haven't been seen since Kagenos." The mere mention of that man sent shudders down Sarutobi's spine; that man had been the real reason he shut Root down. That man was a monster of the highest caliber, and it had taken everything Sarutobi had to engineer his demise.

"He's already dangerous, someone who doesn't know how to hold back. Likely chunin level in skills with enough cunning to take down an elite Anbu. Icy cold, polite, professional, and almost emotionless." Each reminder only had Hiruzen fearing the rise of another "Shadow's hand", but it only got worse from there.

"On top of this he doesn't tolerate any threats to himself, answering even the most friendly of spars with lethal intent. If it wasn't for an entire squad of Anbu and the capabilities of a few highly trained Yamanaka we would still be dealing with the fallout from the boy's first spar, in which he misunderstood the entire purpose and thought the Inuzuka clan heir was attempting to kill him, and responded with what he deemed appropriate force." Hiruzen winced at the reminder, knowing that the man was right.

"I would suggest putting him on the team with the Aburame heir, along with the Hyuuga." That surprised him, not understanding the man's reasons for the second suggestion.

"The Aburame I can understand and agree with, but why the Hyuuga? Judging by her reports she is shy to the point of stupidity, and highly unlikely to hurt anyone, even enemy shinobi. Added into this is a ridiculous obsession with Naruto because he once unintentionally saved her from a trio of bullies whilst her guardian at the time was attempting to kill him. All that that would result in is..." His eyes narrowed, glaring at the darker side of his own coin, matched by the glare of the one-eyed war-hawk, who was glaring at the darker side of his coin.

"You wish to use the Hyuuga to tie him to the village. Her obsession with him would result in her losing all inhibitions around him, molding herself to fit his desires. Just like the Haruno's devotion to the Uchiha, except instead of rumors she would have the ice cold fact that what Naruto would likely want is an ice-cold, murderous bitch, who only shows her warmth to him." The very corners of Danzo's lips were tugged upwards for a moment before the man spoke, an acknowledgement that despite the man's different path he was still more than capable of seeing through the plots around him.

"When the Hyuuga finally convinces the Jinchurriki to fuck her, and it is when and not if, I have several different ways of ensuring that the boy is addicted to the feeling, and several ways of ensuring that he will only be able to obtain that feeling from the young Hyuuga." Danzo did smile now, edges of darkness curving what should have been a friendly expression. A very easy, and very useful method of obtaining someone's loyalty, whether male or female. Make them horny, and make them only able to be relieved by certain people. The original idea behind a sex slave, except in this case it worked a different cage. The smile vanished as quickly as it appeared, even if no small amount of amusement lingered in his eye at the fury that covered the face of his former friend.

"Unfortunately Hiashi-san would not take well to his daughter being used like that, otherwise it would be a valid method of control. I commend you for suggesting it, Hiruzen." The pipe that had lasted him decades nearly snapped under the Kage's grinding teeth, so great was his fury. Even the Anbu hidden in the office were choking under the weight of his monumental killing intent, even if Danzo was entirely unaffected.

"Do not tar me with the same brush you use to paint yourself Danzo. There is no way I would ever sacrifice one of my shinobi for..." Whatever the man had been about to say, Danzo cut him off with a single word.

"Hien." That single word took every ounce of wind from the old man's sails, slumping down and looking each and every one of his many decades.

"Regardless, that wasn't what I was suggesting anyways. Uzumaki is mentally incapable of making the connection as he is now. Instead Hinata would provide the emotional support he requires. Having a weak teammate who is obsessed with him would likely cause him to be even colder to her at first, at least until he sees how much the girl would attempt to improve based upon his rejections. And once she is captured, or injured trying to help him?" He didn't need to finish, Hiruzen's sharp mind filling in the details. Naruto would, by that point, have grown to see Hinata as "his", simply by virtue of the fact that Hinata would do everything she could to avoid being parted from him. He didn't need to be the legendary Professor to know just what the child would do to anything that damaged something of his. Despite the complete lack of morals in the plan, Hiruzen couldn't help but see it as a very good one. Almost good enough to convince him...but Danzo wanted something out of this, something that he wasn't saying.

"And just what will you be getting out of this Danzo?" They sat in silence for several minutes after the question, the aged fire shadow slowly calming down under the influence of his tobacco. It was then that Danzo spoke.

" Is it so difficult to believe that I simply want what is best for the village, and it's Jinchurikki? After all...Uzumaki is an orphan." There it was, his sympathy card. Hiruzen had honestly never even known he had it, much less that he was willing to use it, but that simple statement slammed into him with all the force of an A-ranked jutsu. Danzo had been an orphan, every single member of Root had been orphans...Sarutobi himself was an orphan. A terrible thing really, to have hundreds of mighty shinobi without ever knowing the care of a parent, but that was the way things were.

Unfortunately for Danzo's incredibly slim hopes, Sarutobi quickly put an end to the idea that he would be able to help Naruto from anywhere other than the shadows. For all of his arguments, and all of his valid points, the other man just didn't trust him enough to accept anything that came out of his mouth. Something that would damn him later on.

"Yes it is Danzo. There is nothing that you do that is not to your own advantage; you no longer even realize what it means to sacrifice yourself for the village." That was a low blow and Sarutobi knew it, was counting on it to enrage the man. It failed, even if the man's eye twitched and his knuckles slowly turned white from where they tightly gripped his cane. A single deep breath was enough to calm the man down, causing Sarutobi to curse mentally. This man truly was someone to be wary of.

"This village could be burning down and you would simply stand still. So tell me, what do you gain from this? The only way that I will possibly agree to your suggestion is if you are completely honest with me." Danzo's temper faded into the background, his icy gray eye no longer glaring at his hated rival. He stood slowly, playing up his old injuries just like he always had, and always would, turning towards the door. He opened it with caution, careful not to drop the cane, and moved to walk out, only a single sentence passing his lips, one that would leave Sarutobi thinking for a very long time.

"I see him as a potential successor; he has already learned the lessons it took me two decades to master." The man left then, the Hokage's head spinning and aching from where he had been forced to use everything at his disposal against the man, leaving him utterly exhausted, just as always. Both were unsatisfied with the outcome, but each knew that they had won.

Hiruzen had successfully prevented Danzo from recouping any of the influence that he had once held when Root answered his orders, for if he had given the man an inch he would have taken a mile.

Danzo successfully distracted Hiruzen from any realization as to what he had truly wanted in this meeting, something which he knew had succeeded once one of his soldiers spoke to him after he'd entered his home.

"It is done Danzo-sama. Each book has been planted, the note forged, and the young Uzumaki has been informed of an organization that holds an interest in him." There was again the slight tug at the corner of the man's lips as he questioned the practically vibrating shinobi, knowing that only one thing could have caused this much excitement in him.

"I take it Uzumaki-san is even more interesting than you had believed, Leo-kun?" The old man could see the younger's enthusiasm, even through the blankness of his mask. He almost sighed as the child...no, the man eagerly exploded into a tangent about his favorite subject, knowing that he had a willing listener.

"Uzumaki-kun is a genius Danzo-sama! Some of those traps nearly killed me, and one of them even tagged me with a very potent poison. I have to wonder just how he created them, after all Seli's theory of reduction states that..." The two continued the conversation for some time, not even Danzo's emotionless mask dissuading the younger man from explaining just why those traps were so fascinating, even managing to make the man interested on several points.

Long after the man had left Danzo was there, sipping his tea and gazing at his reflection in the cup, left alone with his thoughts.

'I have done all that I can for you Naruto, just as I did for your father before you, and just like I do for every orphan who enters the shinobi ranks. It's up to you to carry on, and live up to your immeasurable potential.'

~The Shinobi Way~

Naruto had always known that he would never be able to rest; whether the interruptions were physical or mental merely varied from night to night, or day to day. It was a simple fact of his life, one that he had quickly grown used to, and it was no longer something that bothered him, if it had ever been. The boy honestly couldn't remember anymore; his earliest years were a mix of nothing but pain and desperation up until the last year at the orphanage. Because of this it was no surprise to Naruto when he once again awoke, soaked in a cold sweat, The nightmare that had been tormenting him was already fading into the background, just as they always did.

The memories from the nightmares never stayed for long, something that the child was thankful for. In reality he could escape his tormentors, one or the other being sent into death's embrace. Whether it was Naruto or his tormentor no longer mattered to the boy at this point. In his nightmares? He couldn't remember much, but what he did know was that they took away all of his control over the situations. And that was something far worse than any torture, or any beating; he should know. He's experienced them all.

Naruto was never able to realize just how he got outside after a nightmare, much less how he'd managed to gather his equipment and get dressed, but he always knew that he was running. Running from his past, running from his future, running from his mind. It was the only thing that could restore his control, the only thing that could stop his hands from shaking after his sleep.

It wasn't long before he was sweating out the fear, racing over the rooftops faster than any civilian could ever hope to see. The icy air of the night was a welcome relief from the cold sweat that had been clawing at his spine, a reminder that the demons of his mind only held as much power as he let them. A blessing; he had enough enemies in the world without his head being added into them. It wasn't long before he neared the walls, heading to his preferred training ground, one hidden away from any and all prying eyes. It was a much older ground, thoroughly used and abused over the years until it had finally been deemed unsalvageable. The destroyed terrain and years of chakra warfare made the land a hazard to new ninja, and even to older ninja if they were too caught up in a fight. There were decade-old traps and deadly jutsu that had never served their purpose there, and one wrong move could wind up killing him. It was quite an effective way of keeping his edge after so long without a proper attack...

Naruto shook his head angrily, irritated that his thoughts were going off on tangents again. Ever since he had been kicked out of the orphanage it had been hard to keep his mind from spiraling out of control, and it only grew worse the stronger he got. Even now, long after he'd learned the reason for his problem it was still difficult to prevent it.

The boy stopped all movement as the sound of clashing weapons invaded his ears, instinctively rolling as he hit the ground, his eyes flicking around for any sight of a fight. Where there were weapons there were problems, if only for Naruto, and more often than not he'd wound up getting stabbed or sliced by the weapons. In more recent times he had wound up killing the aggressors, but fear still lingered in his stomach; memories of just last month when a trio of jonin had shown him just how far he still had to go.

Against his better judgment Naruto moved towards the fighting, knowing that something else was going on. It might have been 1 a.m., and that was only if Naruto had slept for a bit longer than he was used to before the nightmare struck. The only people out at this time were the Anbu, drunkards, and everyone in the red-light district. In this part of town, the outskirts...there shouldn't be anyone save for the occasional shinobi patrol. Whatever was going on was likely an actual fight, and if that was the case it was quite likely that he would be able to take advantage of it. It was a hundred times easier to steal good equipment from someone who's focus was entirely on a fight than it was someone whose focus was on something less consuming. Oddly enough, the time when one's mind was most devoted for looking for threats and attacks was the time that all other senses were dulled. If one's ears were listening for one thing, other sounds were filtered out. For even the sharpest of senses, focus eliminated all but the things they were looking for; this was why genjutsu was so dangerous to shinobi and civilians alike.

It wasn't long before he found two shinobi trying to kill each other, two people he recognized. Iruka and Mizuki, the Sensei and Assistant for his year in the academy. Two experienced Chunin, both of whom were stronger than they appeared, and both of whom were already injured.

Iruka, a brunette of average height and build, a skilled infiltrator. The only distinguishing mark on his body was a very unique scar across his face, likely from where he hadn't been able to dodge an attack meant to sever his head. Blood and tears leaked from his shaking form as he tried to keep up with Mizuki, his green uniform littered with cuts and gashes, the dark red of his blood staining them. If he survived the night Iruka would never be able to get the stains out.

Mizuki, a silver-haired man of average height and a highly toned build. This was the man that knocked down the ones that Iruka set up, his skills lying in weaponry and area of effect jutsu. His taijutsu was also significantly better than his companions, even if his own uniform was cut in several places, deep scratches across his skin spewing blood.

At the moment they had stopped, Iruka's broken spirit coming out in every word he spoke.

"Why are you doing this Mizuki?" There was none of the chunin's strength in that question, nothing to indicate that just this morning the man had been standing tall and proud as he wished his class good luck. The other man laughed, bitterly and with no humor in it whatsoever. It was the sound of a broken man, one that had been fighting the inevitable for a very long time, and had finally given in before the tide.

"Why Iruka? Why are you fighting me? After all that we've been through I would have thought you'd let me fall to hell in peace!" The man's dark green eyes stood out vividly from the silver hair, matching the saddened brown eyes of his former comrade. Naruto, in the shadows, couldn't help but notice a large scroll that had been thrown into the shadows, sneaking over there as the drama continued.

"Fall to hell? I...I don't understand! What the hell are you doing? Why do you have the Forbidden Scroll?" Mizuki just laughed, throwing a kunai at his former friend. The man dodged it with naught but a tilt of the head, returning the favor with a hail of shuriken. Mizuki leapt to the side, sprinting forward to hit his former friend. Iruka caught the punch with his arm, throwing forward the other as Mizuki's head tilted to the side, his hand coming up with another kunai. Iruka's vest set the blade skating off to the left, letting Iruka's knee slam into Mizuki's stomach, sending the man stumbling backwards. The scarred chunin stopped the fight again, not pressing the assault on the man he still considered his friend. His broken brown eyes stared at the silver-haired man, wondering just what in the world had gone wrong.

"Tsk...fine Iruka. You want to know what I'm doing?" Mizuki panted, holding his stomach and cursing the fact that the slower chunin had sparred with him so much in the past. They could read each other's moves too well, had been partners for too long. They'd learned to cover each others weaknesses both in spars and in actual combat, and knew what the other was going to do even before the other did. It was why Iruka was still alive, even after his new leader had enhanced his speed and strength to far greater than Iruka had ever gone up against.

"In case it wasn't apparent enough, I've had enough of this village! The way it looks, the way we all act, this useless fucking perversion of shinobi! We're hired killers, mass murdering monsters, and here we're supposed to frolic with civilians like we have no problem with anything! We have to bow and kowtow to a bunch of arrogant slobs who have no knowledge of what we go through, and if we want to have a little bit of fun we have to go on a mission to get it!" Iruka just snarled angrily at the lie as Mizuki rushed him again, the two experienced shinobi dancing together in a clash of steel kunai. Iruka narrowly dodged a stab, deflecting a slash as he spun around a knee, right as an elbow crunched into his nose, blood spurting from injury as he stumbled back from the force. Mizuki leapt at him, pressing his advantage, even as Iruka seemed to trip. For a moment, Mizuki could see his victory as Iruka body tensed in preparation for the inevitable blow, one that it seemed he wouldn't be able to avoid. But Iruka kept falling, his hands hitting the ground first as his feet slammed into his friends chest, shoving him backwards as he finished the flip.

Iruka straightened, panting, forced to try and buy time as he spoke again. How did Mizuki get this fast? Iruka had only ever been a step behind him in the physical aspect of combat before now, yet Mizuki was now half again faster than Iruka was!

"Don...Don't you dare give that kind of bullshit, I have known you far too long for you to be able to lie to me like that. Why are you betraying Konoha? You've never been a traitor." Mizuki laughed bitterly at that, his mind on his new leader.

"I met someone stronger than the Hokage Iruka. Someone who understands what I've been going through every day for the past twelve years, and who sympathizes with me. A man that is actually willing to do what it takes to get the job done, rather than wait around and forgive the offender the moment they regretted doing the deed because the person shows regret from the harsh punishment. Someone who knows this village well enough to bring it to it's worthless knees." Iruka was the one to laugh bitterly this time, shaking his head. Mizuki was still lying, but like any good lie there was a scattered fragment of truth within.

"I told you Mizuki..." Iruka's voice was sad as he put the pieces together for the first time, a hint of steel entering his tone as his shoulders tensed and his feet scraped across the ground. Mizuki hesitated in confusion, a moment that Iruka took full advantage of, shunshinning forward in a burst of speed and slamming his fist into Mizuki's gut. The winded man stumbled back, Iruka not pressing the attack as his hands came up, tightening the band of his Hitai-ate. He was done playing around.

"You can't lie to me. You've gone to Orochimaru, a worthless piece of trash who wants to destroy our village. But your reason...are you really that pathetic?" Mizuki growled in fury, spitting out his words with a long burning rage that had been building for years now.

"Fine Iruka! I joined Orochimaru because he had found a way to triumph where the fourth failed! He was going to kill the demon, for all of time, never to return to kill innocents again! Is that such a bad thing? I'm helping to prevent other orphans, needless destruction and death, and I'm helping to stop a demon from destroying Konoha from inside our own fucking system!" His eyes were shining with his rage, the smallest sparks of insanity within. Iruka watched as his friend worked himself into a frenzy at the thought of the demon, a little confused from the reason.

"You were giving Naruto a chance Mizuki! I know you hate the Kyuubi with everything you are...but he's just a boy!" Mizuki snarled from rage, stopped from attacking only from the lingering need to justify himself to the one that was once his best friend.

"I gave him all the chances in the world you worthless fool! No human being could possibly be that cold all the time. He never smiles, never makes small talk, and is inhumanly calm at all times! Even in the middle of a spar he is icy cold and not even the slightest bit stressed. And there is no way that a child should ever be that polite! We've taught over a hundred shinobi since we started, and each and every one of them started of as little brats that couldn't hold a candle to what they've grow into...but he's just a monster! The Kyuubi has annihilated whatever bit of the child might have survived the sealing, if any did to begin with!" Iruka was the one to grow angry this time, his own past coming back to haunt him as they clashed again.

"What the fuck am I then, Mizuki?" He asked as he tried to slug the man in the face, the silver-haired shinobi dodging with ease, retaliating with his own punch. Iruka only just managed to dodge it, using Mizuki's confusion to slam his shoulder into his chest.

"I'm an orphan Mizuki! Do you know how many options an abused orphan has in this village? You have one of three options Mizuki, and one of them is the one that Naruto took!" That surprised the onlooker, who's pen stopped moving over a scroll for just a moment, making sure that he was still hidden. Mizuki stopped cold, glaring at Iruka, demanding an answer. The Chunin obliged angrily.

"Three paths Mizuki, and in case you were wondering, it also corresponds to which style of combat that they will prefer! If you were half the teacher you claim to be you would have realized that." Naruto listened in as he kept copying from the scroll, halfway done already from the years of practice he had gotten.

"One: Ninjutsu. In case you were wondering, this was my path, even if my specialty is infiltration. It starts off with a child desperate for attention he never gets at home, any kind of attention. A prankster, a class clown, or an upstart show off...do the details really matter? A child, desperate for attention of any kind, and will do anything to gain it. They find their future in the fury of ninjutsu, and always tend to go for the flashier techniques until they mature. You remember how I was a prankster?" Mizuki flinched back like he had been punched, remembering how he had been one of the kids who had mocked Iruka for being so pathetic. Iruka's glare only darkened further as he raised his hand, holding up two fingers.

"Two: Genjutsu. A child that has accepted the fact that no one likes them, that no one will like them until they grow strong enough to demand respect. They find their comfort in the cold world of illusion, in the icy world of fact and control. They educate themselves, and treat all others the way that they have been treated." Mizuki started to protest in fury, but Iruka continued with a name.

"Yuhi Kurenai." Mizuki winced again; another person that he had mocked. And now for the third, Iruka's finger coming up to prove it.

"Four: Taijutsu. This is the most varied of the three, as I'm sure you know. It is also the most all-compassing, because both of the other two models will fit it. But there is one major difference between this one and the other two, because this one inherits the most brutal of the lot; the ones who were abused rather than just lonely. They can be extroverts or introverts, happy and enthusiastic or cold and vicious, but there is one constant between them all. They find their comfort in the brutal beating of any who might hurt them. Rock Lee is an excellent example of this one, right Mizuki? Yet another orphan you taunted; at least with him you had the decency to never do it in front of him!" Mizuki's head sank down for a moment in guilt, but when it rose again there was a fire in his eyes.

"Yes Iruka, you're right. The three type of orphans that I mocked when they started out failures. I'm not perfect, and when I see someone try so little yet fail so completely I can't help but laugh. But the Demon doesn't fit in any of these models! With each of the three they have the capacity to care for others. The demon doesn't have that! You've tried to approach him, have tried to make him warm up to you. You, a Shinobi who was able to infiltrate an Iwa Platoon and become one of them, couldn't even manage to make a supposedly abused child like you! That worthless piece of shit doesn't even care about anyone here! Any form of kindness is treated with that icy, angry stare, one that has caused tears in the younger years!" Iruka just shook his head, his feet sliding into a ready position, his arms coming up into his stance.

"You never have understood them Mizuki. Naruto could fit into either Taijutsu or Genjutsu; no one knows him well enough to classify him. Let's finish this." Mizuki snarled wordlessly as Iruka's hands flashed through seals, his own coming up to counter. They both knew this jutsu; both were masters of it, having spent hours testing them against each other. When they worked together it was an S-Rank Combination Jutus; now it was time to test them against each other.

"Katon: Dorogan No Jutsu!"

It was yelled in unison, Two fireballs the size of a fist zooming towards each other, both panting from the sheer amount of Chakra that had been packed into this jutsu. Two small little fireballs, merely the size of their fists...but when they clashed it caused an explosion so big that both Iruka and Mizuki were blasted back as the ground atomized around it. Neither had been expecting that, but it was Mizuki who took advantage of it.

Iruka struggled upwards, his hands pushing him up from the ground as he groaned in pain. The burns were irritating, but nothing he couldn't deal with. The problem came when he felt a cold metal point pressing his chin upwards, his eyes rising to meet the furious eyes of Mizuki.

"So it's over." Iruka wished he could say that he saw his life flashing before his eyes, or that he felt some form of bravery, or even cowardice. All he felt was resignation.

"You might have been able to match me before Iruka, but Orochimaru improved me long before he ordered me to obtain the scroll. It took some time to get control over it...but I recover faster than you ever will. It's always been your downfall in our spars." Mizuki kept talking, almost psyching himself up. For all of his words, for all his anger...Iruka had been his best friend for well over a decade. At some points, his only friend.

"Goodbye Iruka; I will see you in hell." Iruka's eyes closed, accepting his death. Not the way he'd wanted to go...but at least it was for his Village.

Mizuki braced himself, ready to thrust the kunai through. The tear that traced it's way down his face was ignored; Mizuki had made his decision months ago. Now was the time to stand by it. His wrist jerked, Iruka's blood squeezing out around the point of the kunai, even as it fell from an unfeeling hand. Iruka's eyes open after a moment, spotting Mizuki standing above him, with three needles in his neck. Mizuki's body fell down on him, crushing him into the ground, Iruka too surprised to even try to stop it. It was only a minute later, when someone else pulled Mizuki's body off of him, that it sank in. He was still alive.

He looked around spotting his savior placing the Forbidden scroll down. It wasn't anyone he was expecting; out of every shinobi he knew, all the Anbu on patrol tonight, it was Uzumaki Naruto that had found him. The boy didn't even bother looking at Iruka for several moments, just checking Mizuki.

"Is...Is he dead?" Naruto's ears twitched at Iruka's saddened and broken voice, turning to face him. Iruka couldn't help the flinch he gave off as those cold eyes stared at him, not a single speck of emotion in them. When the boy spoke, it was cold and calm.

"Mizuki has been placed into a near-death state. He will awaken when these senbon are removed. I have signaled for Anbu." His sentences were clipped and polite; never any form of small talk when this boy spoke. Iruka knew why the boy talked this way; he'd experienced one or two beatings by drunkards during his childhood; Iruka couldn't imagine how many Naruto had gone through. When all you have ever heard are people who cannot speak correctly, you wind up forcing yourself to speak carefully, clearly, and quite often concisely.

"Why did you save me?" Naruto just looked at him for a second again before turning back to Mizuki, unable to keep himself from asking the question he'd had for several minutes now.

"Why did you defend me?" The question shut Iruka up for some time, long enough for the Anbu to arrive and hear the boy's story. Iruka numbly agreed, wondering just why he had prioritized defending the demon child over his best friend. Right before they walked into the Hokage Office Iruka found his answer, and stopped the boy just long enough to tell him.

"I don't really have a reason Naruto; I just know that what Mizuki was saying was wrong. I defended you because no one deserves to be alone. I've been there, and I know how it feels." That was it; Iruka had extended his hand once again to the broken child. It would be up to Naruto to accept it in the future, if he so chose. For he definitely owed the boy now, and he had always regretted the way that Naruto had grown up alone.

Naruto just followed him in; more than one person had tried that approach, and more than one had failed in it. Iruka would not be the last to fail this way in gaining his trust.

Sarutobi was waiting for them, smoking on his pipe, just like he always was when there was an issue to contemplate. But his voice was steady, holding no exhaustion considering the early hour of the morning. It was quite likely that the man hadn't even gone to sleep yet.

"Report, Iruka." The bruised and battered shinobi snapped to attention, his voice calm as he reported the events of the night.

"Sir. At 12:30 A.M. I went out into the village, unable to sleep. After wandering around for an uncertain amount of time I noticed a shadow moving through the village from the rooftop I was sitting on. There was no Anbu patrol nearby, so I followed it to the outskirts of the village. Once the potential intruder moved into the light, I discovered that it was Mizuki, and upon his back was a large scroll, resembling the forbidden scroll. I approached him, only to be attacked. We fought for several minutes, eventually with him knocking me several feet away. He threw off the scroll and started to fight seriously. I have sparred with Mizuki many times, and he was never that strong or that fast before tonight, and I do not believe that he was ever that capable. If it wasn't for my knowledge of how he moved I would have been dead in just a few minutes. With my knowledge of his tactics I was able to match him for a while, even if I took more damage then he did.

The fight lulled for a moment, as I tried to find out just what was going on. Mizuki revealed that he was a traitor, working for Orochimaru to steal the forbidden scroll. In exchange he told me that Orochimaru had promised..." Iruka drifted off for a moment, his eyes drifting over to Naruto. There was a law that prevented him from continuing to report, but it didn't matter, because Naruto picked up where Iruka left off.

"Orochimaru promised Mizuki that he would give the traitor the power to kill the demon Kyuubi; me." Sarutobi didn't even flinch, even if Iruka did, and simply motioned for Iruka to continue. The man did, turning his face back to Sarutobi.

"Naruto is correct; Mizuki was under the impression that Orochimaru would provide him with power, enough power to kill Naruto, no matter who stood in his way. Mizuki truly believed that Naruto was a demon. After a few minutes the fight began again, and we deadlocked with one of our strongest jutsu's, one we normally used as a tag-team jutsu. It exploded, and he recovered quicker; I would have died if it hadn't been for Naruto stepping in." Sarutobi took several moments to absorb the information, his eyes on the young blonde child. Naruto had grown up a lot over the years; still a little thin for his age, standing at 5'1, and with his blonde hair just long enough to shade over his eyes.

Naruto's past was evident in every thing about the boy; he had a pair of loose, black cargo pants, with several pouches dotting his waist. Sarutobi knew that each had some form of weapon within. He kept those pockets well stocked with tools as well, never knowing just what he might run into. The pants were tucked into a pair of black combat boots; one of the few Shinobi that Sarutobi had ever known to wear boots instead of sandals. It was a sign of the boys mindset; shinobi wear their specifically designed sandals to keep their feet away from the blood that they shed, for when one of Sarutobi's soldiers got serious they would be wading through it. Naruto's boots implied that he didn't mind the blood; the others who had worn the boots? They'd reveled in it.

His shirt was gray and tight against his flesh, but not so tight as to reveal the mesh armor it covered, the cool links of metal weaved within the fabric likely pressed to his chest. An extra layer of protection against those that would attack him, something that would let blades slide off of him as he twisted around the field of battle. On his back was a well-maintained ninjato; a shorter blade designed for assassins. It was quick and easy to wield, strong enough to stand up to even a zanbato when wielded correctly, but more designed for quick kills. A lethal blade, with neither refinement or forgiveness. Just like the majority of it's wielders. The final piece of the ensemble was his forehead protector, in it's proper place, shielding his forehead from any blades that would seek a quick end to his life. Well, the final piece that Sarutobi understood at least.

Naruto also wore a dark gray Haori, a trench coat with multiple pockets on the inside. His blade was on the outside of it, sheathed across his back with the hilt peaking up above his right shoulder, Not that big of a deal by itself, but it was the decorations upon it that Sarutobi had never been able to understand. There were small foxes trailing after each other across the very bottom of his coat, their dark red fur a stark contrast from the gray of the coat. Naruto was already believed to be the Kyuubi in human form, even if he hadn't known why he was hated before tonight, and the foxes only caused the boy more trouble from the villagers. Of course, with all the attention on the foxes, most people didn't even bother looking at the Kanji that was sewn into the back of his coat, the symbol for Silence.

His clothes were meant to blend in and defend him; the mesh armor covered most of his body; and shinobi mesh armor was significantly stronger than that pathetic civilian type. Everything about his equipment was streamlined to ensure both easy access and stealth, and no one who hadn't had years of experience in seeing it wouldn't notice it. They would just overlook him, just like Naruto likely wanted.

"I see Iruka-kun." Iruka couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief as his Hokage returned to the genial old man he normally was, rather than the commander that he truly was. When Sarutobi got serious the world listened, and if he was disappointed in you there was nothing that could stop the guilt. The old man smiled at the chunin, leaning forward a little to speak now.

"I trust that in the future you will be even more vigilant in your training?" Iruka smiled slightly at the Hokage, nodding his head. He had been somewhat...lax recently, but he would fix that. Sarutobi just smiled a little wider, before dismissing Iruka.

"Go and get your injuries taken care of Iruka-kun; after that you can have the week off. I know how important Mizuki was to you, and to be betrayed is not something I would wish upon any of my shinobi." Iruka just shook his head, feeling the pain of his leader from the countless betrayals that the man had suffered within his lifetime.

"It is the world we live in Hokage-sama; all that we can do is try and recover afterwards." Sarutobi nodded in agreement as Iruka walked out, sharp brown eyes turning to Naruto.

"Why did you save Iruka's life Naruto-kun? You've never liked anyone in the academy, much less him." Naruto stared coldly at him for several moments, his apathy justifying Sarutobi's question. But Naruto did answer, his right hand coming up to tap twice on his headband.

"I did not want to become a shinobi of this village; I did it anyways because it was the best of the terrible decisions before me. Until Konoha decides to betray me, a shinobi in her ranks, it is my duty to defend her." Sarutobi wasn't satisfied with that, but Naruto turned and walked out; without being dismissed. It was only Naruto's parting words that let the boy leave unscathed, that tempered Sarutobi's anger.

"Those who attack me have lost sight of their purpose in life; I have never had a purpose before now." Surprisingly, that sated Sarutobi's need to understand the boy, letting him leave easily. It only made sense after all.

Naruto had never belonged, never been cared for. This story was true for orphans and the gutter trash the world over, and so was the result. Once they were finally accepted, they would do anything and everything to stay that way. History was full of examples; Uchiha Gein, the progenitor of his clan. Uzumaki Shien, first of the Uzumaki. Shimura Danzo, Founder of Root. Kaguya Kaien, the founder of the Kaguya Clan. If things went well, Naruto would fight his hardest for Konoha, no matter the abuse he went through on the way to acceptance, simply because he'd become a shinobi; and, for the first time in his life, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

As Naruto walked out of the office, he heard a voice, just like he had for several years.

"For a being known as the God of Shinobi, Sarutobi is a foolish man. He didn't even ask about me, someone much more impressive than little old you." Naruto didn't react, only thinking his response, his eyes roving the building for threats.

'There was a reason I made up the lie about purpose, Kyuubi. If he believes I am actually loyal to Konoha he is more likely to let me slide on a few things, at least when you consider how big of a flight risk Jinchurikki are. Who knows? He might even let me be trained by my "Jonin-Sensei."' There was a snort within his mind, a loud noise that had once made him jump in the real world.

"Why do I doubt that you even care. Naruto?" The boy's eyes iced over just a little bit more as he glared at the chunin who had moved to block his way, the woman taking an instinctive step back as she flinched. The boy continued out of the Hokage Tower unmolested, his mind still on Kyuubi.

'It would be nice to be trained for once, but I doubt that it will happen. There is no point in worrying over maybe's at this point in my life; all that matters is staying alive long enough, becoming strong enough to finally ditch this hellhole.'

Back in the Hokage Office, Hiruzen's eyes narrowed in irritation; Naruto was even smarter than he seemed, to play with his emotions like that. After all, it was well recorded that the Old Hokage himself had only found purpose in protecting his village.

"A point to you my boy; but I'm still winning." The glow of the embers in his pipe illuminated his features in the now dark room as the man stood, shadows flickering through. A simple hand movement announced that he was going to bed, the Anbu who were always by him flickering away alongside him. He would resume his mantle upon the morrow, and it would require a changing of his methods. He had manipulated everything about Naruto's life; it was time to step up his game, or else the well-versed child would begin to regain lost ground.

Author's Note: Yes, it's late. Blame a combination of Smite and a popular, long fic that I finally got around to reading. Chunin exam day re-something or another by perfect lionheart. Amazing. Anyways, this second chapter is done. Before anyone say's anything about the holes at the end, they are there for a reason. Besides, does anyone really expect my Sarutobi to truly be taken in this easily? Honestly, it's like you were expecting a Bashing.

Now, people will probably protest that I'm bashing Sasuke in this chapter; I'm not. From Danzo's and my Kakashi's perspective, the brat is a worthless little brat. Sure, pain, death, blah blah blah suck it the fuck up. They are experienced, hardened shinobi who have had more shit happen to them in minutes than the Uchiha has in his entire life during the whole Naruto universe. I'm going to be covering all the holes in this story that that I can, and it's going to be a long one, starting with the last chapter and ending with the final fight. So don't expect tiny chapters.

Now as for Iruka? Fuck him. Yeah, it's wonderful that he's extending the helping hand, good for him, he's a good Samaritan and all that. Sometimes though, you have to grab someone by the throat and force them to accept you, which is what it will likely take with Naruto. But I will focus on character development in a ninja world. So accept the fact that there is going to be a great deal of fighting, and character development in the fights. You can only surpass your peak in the face of adversity.